Unwilling
by Miscruft
Summary: "And who are these muppets?" George inquired aggressively "Well nice to meet you too asshole" the blonde girl with the aviators retorted. When Commander George Lyons of the infamous British Special Air Service is assigned a joint ops mission with the American Spec Ops, Delta Force, he feels cheated at having been sent away from his SAS squad. Until he meets his new team...
1. New Beginnings

**Author Notes: Alright lads so I'm relatively new to fan fiction but I have been writing stories both short and long for a long time. I am aware that this is a predominantly American site so understandably some of the English slang coming from George may not be easy to understand but I shall explain certain phrases at the end of each chapter. Thanks for reading and I really appreciate constructive criticism so I can make better content, so please don't hesitate to inform me if something sounds a bit ridiculous, I promise I'll always make sure to amend it!**

 **Chapter 1**

George Lyons irritably yanked his hood over his head and aggressively fixed his formidable iron mask onto his sleep-deprived face. The mask with held two slits for eyeholes with advanced optical systems that allowed him to identify a mouse from 2000 metres away, face recognition systems patched into NORAD archives and all that other high tech bollocks. It didn't have a mouth or nose opening and always gave him the reassuring knowledge that no one could possibly know what his expression was. Built into the mask was a compact breathing system that was useful for practically nothing except the possibility of a gas attack or a particularly cold night where the vicious air clawed at his lungs. He fixed the buckles on his jet-black flak jacket and flicked his M9 Berretta safety switch on and off. It was a terrible idea to do this in the Chinook dual bladed helicopter he sat in, but it comforted him and soothed his anger at the ridiculous assignment he had been given by Lieutenant Harries.

"Landing in T-minus 20" a metallic voice came over the megaphone stationed in the mid section between the front and back area of the Chinook.

George cursed in his rough, London accent. George was a member of the Special Air Service, also known as the SAS. Renowned to be the most elite fighting force in the world along with Spetsnaz (the Russian SF) and Delta Force (the American SF). Hell, godforsaken Delta Force was based in every single shape and form off of the hugely respected British SAS.

This was exactly why George was so enraged at the assignment he had been given. He let his mind wander as the helicopter descended back to the time yesterday when he had been told that he was to be transported from his home country in England all the way over to Nevada. The flight had been uncomfortable as he was in full SAS gear sat next to a family of civilians who were exchanging nervous looks at the black clad special forces officer. How he had managed to get through passport control with his trusty Berretta he had no idea. Fucking Americans. Maybe he was so angry because he saw all special forces inferior to the SAS. Maybe he felt betrayed being one of the SAS's most highly respected officers, despite his mere age of 18 and being sent away from his team to America. He didn't know himself why he was so pissed off, the main thing was he had been sent to rendezvous with Delta Force at their secret military base somewhere in the middle of the Nevada desert. He was supposed to meet with a General Blade or someone. Well he had a game plan. He was going to show that he didn't want to be there, that he was ten times too good for them and they should know it. This General Blade wasn't his commander, they were from different armies for god's sake! He definitely wasn't going to show her any form of respect. He was lost in thought and didn't brace himself for touch down. He nearly fell out of his seat.  
"Good start mate, good start" he muttered to himself.


	2. Mindtricks

**Chapter 2**

"Commander Lyons" came a stern and commanding voice out of the immense hustle of the special operations base. A woman of about 30 years or so materialized from the crowd with an escort of three or four soldiers. A man walked beside with a sheathed sword on his back. He wore a strange form of Samurai-like body armour and had hair nearly as black as George's own uniform. George would have gone on to describe the colour of his eyes but the fact was they were not visible to him. The man had a red blindfold over his eyes and yet he moved with complete confidence even though he could not possibly see anything. As the group came to a stop before him as he walked out of the Chinook, George remembered his game plan. He stopped, composed himself under his mask which was provoking inquisitive looks from the massive, busy crowd around him. "Act natural" he mumbled to himself.

"Commander Lyons" the lady with the disciplined manner to her every movement. "I am General Blade and this is one of my colleagues, Kenshi." She motioned to the man with the blindfold.

"Alright mate" George said with a nod of his head. This was greeted by a confused look from Kenshi and a somewhat aggravated expression from the General. "Well played George" he thought smiling under his mask at the annoyed expression of the General.

"Would you care to inform us as to what game you are playing and why you have played it well?" Kenshi inquired. George felt uneasy. Wasn't that exactly what he had been thinking a few seconds ago? The General looked pleased at having confused the soldier.

"Do not be uneasy Commander it was exactly what you were thinking a few seconds ago." Kenshi assured him

"What are you on mate…" George was about to back away but remained still, happy his confused expression was hidden under his mask.

"I am not "on" anything, it is a simple mindtrick" Kenshi smiled at George and turned to the amused General.

"We cannot waste any more time, this way Commander" the General requested, regaining her composure from the moment of amusement she had experienced with the new soldier and the telepath. George allowed himself to be lead through the crowd, all the time running identification scans on Kenshi. When NORAD came up with nothing George felt even more confused and angry. As he followed the General he returned the strange looks from the huge crowd of soldiers who had stopped everything to look at the strange masked new comer. They exited what looked like an immense airport complete with three runways and numerous lumbering transport aircraft and entered an equally large compound. You had to give it to them, the Americans did have huge resources and ability to construct and build. After what seemed like hours of walking through a labyrinth of whitewashed walls complete with viewing points of recruits engaging in martial arts training. Finally, he was led into a huge briefing room with hundreds of computers. Aware of his symbol of power in the form of his mask on his face that was representative of all SAS soldiers, George strode through the columns of faces illuminated by computer screens to a large briefing table.

"Commander Lyons I presume" said a man around the same age as General Blade. George instantaneously recognised the man's famous smile.

"Wait…You're… You're…"

"Johnny Cage at your service"

 **Author Notes:**

 **Alright guys thanks for reading chapter two.**

 **So this is the slang and its meaning:**

 **"Alright mate"-Informal greeting  
"What are you on mate"-What do you thing you're doing? (In the context of the story George would be asking Kenshi how he did the mindtrick)**


	3. Arguments

**Chapter 3**

Stood around the man were four people, two of them men, two of them women, both of them around the same age as George. Keeping his mask on to show hostility George said:

"And who are these muppets?" he growled threateningly motioning to the team of four who stood in front of him. George had not quite registered that the Johnny Cage, star of so many of his favourite movies (though George would never admit it) was doing business with Delta Force. As a result of this in his confusion George had not intended to be so aggressive in his response. However the words did sound very threatening and aggressive, even to him. He was about to congratulate himself but remembered Kenshi standing behind him doing his mindtrick thing and stopped himself.

One of the four, a girl of about 18 with the sides of her head shaved down to where there was little hair left, a bun in the back of her hair and eyes resembling something of a cyan abyss retorted back to him:

"Well nice to meet you too asshole"

"Sergeant Cage!" General Blade bellowed. "We treat our allies with respect"

"What? He started it!" the girl exclaimed.

"I apologise for that Commander" General Blade returned her concentration. "This is our most esteemed SF team and also the team that you will be working with for the next few months. We will leave you now with Mr. Cage who will brief you and introduce you to this Taskforce." The General and her entourage turned and walked back the way George had come. Kenshi smiled at George and turned heel and followed General Blade out.

"So Commander this is the new team" Johnny smiled at him and motioned to the four soldiers staring at him. "Well come on introduce yourselves!" A tall, well built man with bronze headgear that ran along his temples down to his jaw advanced forward. On his back was a rucksack sort of contraption with at least 20 arrows holstered. Also strapped onto his back was a large stick with a lion's head engraved on top of it. It didn't take George long to realise that it was an enormous bow. This was clearly not someone from Delta Force. Unless the American Special forces feel that guns have become too mainstream and now they're taking a more unique approach. His hair was tied into a ponytail and his shoulders were broad and arms were relatively thick. The man extended a hand.

"I am Kung Jin, a member of both the Shaolin Monks and this Taskforce". George shook his hand firmly.

"Shaolin Monks…?" he queried.

Another Asian man with hair sculpted into a permanent position by wind wearing light armour of some metal compound. George's mask failed to identify the metal. "Fucking NORAD archives" he thought.

"The NORAD archives will not classify this metal, it is unique to the mountains where the Shirai Ryu train" the man informed George.

"Jesus Christ not another telepath" George groaned. The man grinned.

"I am Takahashi Takeda of the Shirai Ryu".

"Pleased to make your acquaintance mate" George turned his head to a girl wearing standard Delta Force body armour with the American flag engraved into her shoulder pad. She had a kind and welcoming expression (more than can be said of the blonde girl who was glaring with furious intent into George's eye slits. The black girl reached over the table and shook his hand.

"My name is Jacqui Briggs of Delta Force Taskforce 3". Finally George turned to the angry blonde.

"Ok Superman," the girl said as if she was talking to a baby, "we all know that your secret identity is very important to you but can you please stop being such a massive pussy and take the fucking mask off so I can greet you face to face!" Her tone had raised from mockery to anger very quickly. As a result of this George humoured her and took off his mask revealing mucky and sweaty skin. He had a shock of blonde hair punctuated by turquoise irises that cut through to the heart of a weak-willed person. But this girl was certainly not weak-willed.

"Wow... you look like a dick that's been kept in the bath too long" she muttered leading George to frown. "My name is Sergeant Cassie Cage."

"Phenomenal I'll call you knobhead" George replied with mock affection.

"Well fantastic! We've all made new friends today and I can see we're all gonna get along fine. Now we'll…" Johnny was interrupted by George

"So Mr. Cage do you mind informing me as to who will lead this group"

"Why that would be Cassie" Johnny answered

"Hahahha" George laughed in a fake manner. "Nah mate, being serious who's leading the Taskforce?"  
"I wasn't joking, Cassie leads this Taskforce"

"You fucking with my mind mate" George stood in disbelief staring at the blond who had put on her sunglasses and was now chewing gum. Cassie put on a shit-eating grin.

"It seems you have to obey Sergeant Knobhead now "mate"

 **Author Notes:**

 **Thanks for reading guys!:)**

 **Slang meaning:  
"Muppets"-Pretty obvious what a muppet is, basically an idiot**

 **"Knobhead"-A dickhead...**


	4. Scheming

**Chapter 4**

 **Author Notes:**

 **I would really like to thank Rosemallo for some fantastic constructive criticism that I'll definitely be sure to take on board! I get what you mean as I have a habit of being too descriptive with too many unnecessary flowery adjectives** **J** **I don't mean to make George seem so aggressive particularly towards Americans, just any Special Forces unit that isn't the SAS. I understand that you'll interpret most of the slang, the translations are simply for those who have never been to or had anything to do with Britain before. Once again thank you very much and I would love more reviews so I can make the content as good as possible** **J**

After a short briefing where George was to be taken, Cassie led out flicking her wrist for George to follow her. George was led through hundreds of other corridors that gleamed a blinding, synthetic white. As he followed behind the leader he grumbled and muttered about what a freak show he was being put in.

"Shaolin fucking monks, Shurry raya (pronounced very badly by George), what had Lieutenant Harries been thinking, he…" Suddenly Cassie stopped and turned to face him causing him to nearly collide with her.

"Look" she growled, "I don't like you being put in my team any more than you do but you could at least try not to be a total asshole about it. We've been provided with a priority one mission within the last few days and the only reason you're on it is because apparently you're a decent soldier. So far I haven't seen anything like that so you better impress me and the team quickly or I'm getting you kicked out." The Sergeant had a malicious tone to her voice. In fact, there was nothing at that time that Cassie wanted to do more than beat the arrogance out of that stupid kid's face. She spun round and stomped away, as if trying to deal pain to the marble tiles that rested on the ground. "Challenge accepted" George thought which was greeted by a suppressed laugh from Takeda. George started following once again the navy blue clad Sergeant who possessed two USP.45s clipped onto her back along with various other equipment sheathed into pouches on her hips and legs. Jacqui approached him and walked alongside him for a while before saying:  
"I know you may think that she's being unreasonable but you're not exactly helping yourself."

"Why?"

"Well you suddenly turn up out of the blue, barge into our team, call us muppets, disrespect our General and then wonder why Cassie's not being very welcoming to you." Jacqui replied with a shrug.

"I'm sorry if I'm sounding like an idiot it's just…" George sighed and took a resigned posture, "I just really don't want to be here doing this, all my team, my brothers are back in England whilst I'm clowning around over in the middle of Nevada. I just want to be back with my unit."

"George, I understand why you do not want to be here but you have been brought here for a very good reason" Jin interrupted. "Cassie isn't purposefully horrible, she feels threatened by you suddenly being thrust into our team. But you can't relax now, the next few days are going to be tough."

"Yeah, I promise you Cassie will do everything in her power to make basic assessment for you hell" Jacqui solemnly informed him.

"She has an immense reputation to upkeep, especially being the daughter of the General, she will want to win in every way possible" Takeda nodded.

"Hold on, she's the daughter of…" George was halted mid-sentence.

"This is your quarters, you're up at three so if you sleep like a baby then you could probably squeeze in two hours or so of rest" Cassie said with little sympathy. George entered the room and the door was slammed behind him.

"Prick" Cassie muttered as she walked alongside Jacqui.

"Hey, I don't think he's that bad he's just confused"

"It seems as though his natural reaction to a situation he is not comfortable with is to become defensive and hostile" Takeda reasoned.

"In that respect he's not that different to you Cass!" Jin exclaimed.

"Don't you start Jin…" Suddenly a mischievous grin that was so common to Cassie appeared. She turned to her team. "Am I right in saying there is basic assessment tomorrow"

"Cassie…" Jacqui pleaded.

"Well what if some terrible misfortune were to lead him to fight someone of a not assigned to assessment, let's say…hmmmm…moi" Cassie schemed

"Cass this is not some new set of recruits that you used to beat up like last month, this guy is a hardened soldier, he will not be bad" Jacqui warned gravely.

"Ok ok… I was just saying…"  
"Cass, do not mess around with him. Look the more you leave him alone the more likely he is to be sent back like the others" Takeda said, "if you go and spontaneously start big fights like you do with the Spetsnaz detachment it will not go well for the both of you."

"Ok guys I understand! Jeez. Anyway I'm gonna get forty winks, see you in two hours" Cassie said

"Cass" Jacqui grabbed her shoulder.

"Yeah"

"Don't be an idiot"


	5. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

 **Alright lads so I just had a really good idea for the series however for this idea to work I need to backtrack and update this chapter.**

 **It details George's nightmares and is important for the recurring theme of his phobia throughout the series.**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy:)**

 **Chapter 5**

George Lyons could not move. His limbs were not responding to him. On the brink of panic he desperately attempted to calm himself down. He let his training kick in and scanned the perimeter. Automatically he registered two escape routes for when he regained control of his arms and legs which were both numb. He felt almost detached from his body. "No" he thought "No!" he was on the verge of crying out in panic. "Calm down mate! There will be a rational explanation for this. You're just…just…" It was at that moment that George registered that he was in an enormous room. This space from his perspective was bigger than any human being could possibly have ever imagined without getting a headache. Without warning the door swung open revealing a little boy of no more than nine years. Despite his age he looked huge from the perspective of the tiny George. He was clad in blue garments with a strange insignia on the front. George inwardly smacked himself. Those were pyjamas, and not just any pyjamas, superman pyjamas. Despite the strange situation he had found himself in, he tried to remain optimistic. He always used to wear superman pyjamas (sometimes he still did…). George mentally smiled. The boy got into bed, mouthed a goodnight to a figure poking her head through the door and pulled the covers over his head.

George waited for what seemed like days watching the child sleep. The kid reminded him of what he was like when he was young: curious, inquisitive, imaginative, always ready to drop everything and go on an adventure. George laughed heartily as he remembered when he had stole all of his sisters dolls and hid them in his drawer for a whole two days. For some strange reason, that was the only reason George remembered that part of his childhood, because of his sister's dolls. Now why did he only remember that? Nothing particularly special had happened over those two days.

Suddenly the nine year old who resembled him so much sat up and looked around.

"Mary stop laughing I'm tired!" the boy shouted into the black. Had he been laughing? George couldn't remember having the ability to speak or move any of his limbs. And who was Mary? George assumed the kid had a sibling. Yet name sounded very familiar… "Jesus Christ, everything is sounding familiar here" George thought laughing to himself nervously. The boy was about to lie back down when he sat back up and looked around the room in an unnerved fashion.

"Mary I said stop laughing!" the boy moaned. Can this kid hear him laugh? George was really confused, he kept quiet. The boy was about to lie down again once more when suddenly a noise floated through the darkness. This time George heard it and froze his invisible limbs. That was definitely a laugh, coming from somewhere very close to him. He scanned the room once more. All that inhabited the area was a desk, a set of drawers, a bed and a closet. "There it is again" George thought. He pinpointed the noise to the set of drawers at the other side of the room. "The set of drawers. Fuck that seemed so familiar too." The poor kid was frozen solid with the ice of fear. "The drawers, the drawers, come on George think" he thought to himself with increasing anxiety. "The drawers, the drawers… WHY ARE THE DRAWERS SO FUCKING FAMILIAR?!"

By the time George had realised what was happening it had began. The drawers threw themselves open and two china dolls picked themselves up and with their delicate limbs slowly pulled their perfect carved bodies up and onto the edge of the structure. Their eyes were glazed over and unblinking. Dead. Their eyes were dead. Yet with no assistance whatsoever they waved at the nine year old. After completing this gesture they cackled maniacally and started singing…

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, goes the clock." Their arms, sculpted into a fist resembled stumps that the…things waved around uncontrollably. Their dresses looked as though the wind was permanently blowing in one direction which made the scene even more unnatural. Without any warning they stopped singing and stared at the horrified nine year old.

"Where's mummy?" the one in the pink frock questioned maliciously.

"Mummy isn't here…" the one in the blue dress answered, its eyes spinning like an aircraft out of control.

"Mummy isn't here, mummy isn't here, mummy isn't here" they began to chant.

"Let's get our friends to come and play!" It screamed.

"We can play girls catch boys!" the pink one suggested, her black eyes somehow staring lifelessly into the nine year olds own turquoise eyes.

"RUN" George screamed at the kid "RUN MATE FUCKING RUN!" The child seemed to acknowledge George's screams and looked up towards where he was sitting.

"Mate hear me, look at me, don't look at them, please don't look at them look at me!" George begged the child.

"La La La La" the couple sang, dancing in a circle. "It's raining, it's pouring, the little boy is snoring, he went to bed, we smashed in his head and he didn't get up in the morning"

"MATE IF YOU CAN HEAR ME GET OUT OF THAT ROOM PLEASE!" The boy turned to look in pure terror at the dancing dolls

"GEORGE" he yelled. "GEORGE LYONS I KNOW IT'S YOU!" The boy turned back to George at the mention of his name.

"I can't see you, help me!" the boy cried. It was him. It was him. The boy was a younger George.

"George listen to me, run mate, just run to your parents!" George begged.

"Ohh look our friends are coming" the dolls clapped their stumps of hands. "Now the fun begins!" The door was thrown open and a surge of 15 or so identical china dolls threw themselves into the room.

"MUMMY! MUMMY!" The nine year-old George lamented.

"GET OUT OF THERE! GET OUT..." George's yells were cut out by the sing song voices of the dolls.

"It's raining, it's pouring, the little boy is snoring, he went to bed, we smashed in his head, and he won't get up in the morning"

"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO…"

George awoke screaming, his dagger in his hand lashing out into the semi-darkness that was three o'clock in the morning. George hit himself in the head.

"Fucking brain" he thought. What had he been dreaming about? Bugger, he couldn't remember. He groaned and fell back onto his pillow. He was beginning to drift back into a deep sleep when a knock that emanated machine gun fire battered the door.

"Up soldier, basic assessment starts today". George's years of training that had been beat into the back of his mind since he was elected for Special Service kicked in and he forced himself out of bed. Putting on a pair of boot camp tracksuit bottoms with a Delta Force insignia on it and pulling a shirt three sizes too small over his head he grabbed his trainers and headed outside.

"Bollocks" he thought with his hand on the door handle realising he had been holding his dagger the whole time. He sheathed it in the space between his sock and boot and stepped outside. Cassie was wearing roughly the same attire except she had her aviators on along with a blue hoodie. George smiled at her.

"Three o'clock in the morning and you still need to wear sunnies huh?"

"Sorry they shield my eyes from your blinding ugliness" Cassie retorted.

"Where is this assessment thing then?"

"Have you ever heard of breakfast?" Cassie snarled

"Call this Special Forces" George chortled. "Do I get free room service with that?"

"Yeah I can give you a free face massage, how about that." Cassie led him into an enormous canteen the size of a rugby/football pitch.

"Get something down you, no doubt you're gonna need it buddy"

"You think I'm your "buddy" you got another thing coming mate" George replied threateningly.

"Well I'm not your "mate" now piss off and eat something."


	6. Basic Assessment

**Chapter 6**

George thanked the canteen server and went to sit down alone at a table. Soon an officer came and sat down next to him. He had a standard army buzzcut and dark brown eyes. He wore roughly the same Boot Camp vest as George, except his actually fit him. He wore a friendly and inviting expression on his face. However George saw right through the kind outside after glancing over at the table of recruits who were sneering and looking at the conversation intently. Clearly they had sent him over to extract information about the new Delta Force member.

"Private First-Class Paul Hart" the officer introduced himself extending his hand. George stared at him and eventually put down his fork and gripped the mans hand in a strong embrace.

"Captain George Lyons," he needed to get rid of this guy.

"So uuhhh... where you from?" the man lowered his voice.

"England"

"Yeah but, where in England?" The man questioned with interest.

"South England"

"You live in London?"

"Last time I checked" George replied pushing his beans around with his fork. Private Hart motioned to George's food.

"You don't like it?"

"No I prefer tea and scones" George said sarcastically. The man laughed lightly.

"Being serious though, everyone is saying your SAS, are you?" George thought about the question for a long time before answering.

"Yes"

"So why are you here?"

"Classified" George shrugged off the question.

"Don't pull that card on me" the man said. "Have you been assigned to Cassie's team?"

"Classified."

"Have you been given a mission yet?"

"Classified." The man rolled his eyes.

"Everyone says that Cassie hates your guts," George paused.

"You're right there mate." he nodded standing up.

"You got basic assessment today?" he asked as George picked up his tray and went over to put it on the washing up shelf. He grunted.

"Well I'm coming to watch, can't wait to see your moves!" George looked at the excited private bouncing around with a frown on his face.

"Sick one mate," he turned and walked to where he had spotted Jacqui sitting staring with Cassie and a few other soldiers at a table in the opposite area of the canteen.

"Right, we're heading to sector 14 for S&C pronto" Cassie informed him. George immediately recognized the term short for Strength and Conditioning.

The Delta Force compound was so large that it had its own tram system that linked up all 30 sectors. The population of the compound must have been around two and a half million. It was a small country!

After George got off the tram at what he assumed to be Sector 14 he was led to an enormous room with a boxing ring in the middle along with various strength equipment surrounding it. George was led to a small door at the opposite end of the room containing hundreds of advanced computer systems attached to a treadmill. At each desk there was a scientist wearing a sterile white lab coat and an expression of extreme concentration. In the middle of the room stood a man at least three heads smaller than George. However he had muscles so large they looked as though they may pop out of the taut skin holding them at any second. As soon as George walked into the room he waddled up to him and stood gingerly close staring up at his face. George was around six foot two and towered above the man. He was also very well built as a result of gruelling SAS training. He was not as dench as the small man sizing up to him but if a fight was to occur it would be clear who would win.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" the man bellowed at Cassie, pointing at George.

"This is Commander George Lyons of the SAS, he will be completing basic assessment today," Cassie nodded.

"ALRIGHT YOU SON OF A BITCH GET ON THAT GOD DAMN TREADMILL BEFORE I RAM MY HAND SO FAR UP YOUR ARSE IT GOES INTO FUCKING OUTWORLD!" George knew these types of people from experience, the shouty-big-man. He may as well just do what he says now and beat the crap out of him when he got the chance later. "Still, what was this "Outworld" he kept hearing about?" he thought walking over to the treadmill where a group of scientists where waiting with a dizzying quantity of wires and apparatus. They attached wires on to his head and chest and told him to get on the treadmill. As he got on he saw Cassie, Jacqui, Jin and Takeda all huddled round a computer whilst the shouty-man attempted to threaten a scientist.

Suddenly the treadmill began whirring and George was forced to start walking forward. The treadmill went through various stages of speed which George dealt with easy. Finally, they entered the last stage of the treadmill where it was an all out sprint for as long as possible. George wasn't the fastest man in the world but he was relatively quick. After about five minutes of sprinting he felt a twinge in his leg. "Bugger" he thought "My hamstring". Long story short, George had been on an escort mission somewhere in Syria a few months ago escorting a convoy through a strip where ISIS were particularly active. He'd gone off with Michael, a member of his team to scout ahead when they had been caught off guard as George received a radio transmission whilst they were in open space. He had taken a bullet to the chest which his body armor had stopped from doing serious damage and another when straight through his leg, tearing his hamstring. They had neutralized the attackers quickly and escaped relatively unharmed but it had taken a few weeks of therapy along with lots of painkillers to heal it.

Back to the treadmill, George had begun to get seriously worried about snapping his hamstring again. He sprinted until his legs burnt and the twinge turned into pain. But he had to impress them. Simple as that.

At last the machine stopped and George immediately stretched out his leg muscle. He held himself up with legs set alight by the treadmill and looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him in disbelief, even shouty-man looked quite impressed.

"Sergeant" a scientist called to Cassie, "look at the heart rate monitor!"

"What about it?" George questioned having recovered quickly.

"It rose by only fifteen beats per minute!" the scientist squeaked in excitement.

"Yeah? And?" George shrugged.

"That's twenty BPM less than an average US marine!"

"So I've got a low heart rate"

"An unnaturally low heart rate for something of that much physical effort, most trained athletes would be at about 210 BPM after the ten minute mark-You were only 150." Cassie looked irritated with the scientist.

"Follow me" she ordered.

"What are we doing now" George asked with a chuffed expression.

"Beating the crap out of you" Cassie replied, but she was deadly serious.


	7. Out of Control

**Chapter 7**

George entered the ring and stretched his taut leg and arm muscles. He looked up to his left where the view point was crowded with soldiers and recruits. He looked down to his left and saw Johnny Cage, General Blade and Kenshi watching him with interest. He saw his opponent come on, an instructor about four years older than him, much bigger than him in terms of height with long, thick arms that would no doubt be hard to block.

As George stepped out into the middle of the ring Cassie tapped him on the back and whispered "Remember you need to absolutely destroy him, hurt him, show them you mean business-if you can do that of course". George nodded solemnly. As the shouty-man screamed "FIGHT" the huge man sprinted at George. Big mistake…

George dropped low and sprang upwards with his legs driving his shoulder into the man's stomach, severely winding him. As if in a rugby match, George lifted the man and threw him as hard as possible onto the floor. The groaning man, who at this point had his leg at a painful 90 degree angle, wasn't getting back up but George was not done yet. He grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck and punched him in the face twice, the second time letting out a satisfying crack of a jaw breaking.

He let the man fall to the floor unconscious and walked back to his side of the ring.

"I said "hurt" not fucking kill" Cassie murmured angrily as the man was carried off by paramedics.

"That was weak, gimme someone else" George said acknowledging the look of horror and surprise on the viewers faces as they saw the man being carried off.

"Try not to murder this one Fabian" said Jin to the man entering the ring.

"I'll do my best" laughed the man, who had a similar build as George. Jin grinned while George heard uncertain murmurs from the viewers. He felt Cassie push him into the centre of the once again before jumping down from the side bar to join her friends.

"You gotta admit, he ain't bad" Jacqui said.

"Yeah but he's fighting Fabian now, he's gonna get mashed, SAS or not" Cassie sniggered.

"FIGHT" shouty-man yelled. The two didn't move but stared each other out, each one daring the other to strike first. "Bugger" George thought, he hated having to make the first move. Bracing himself he sprinted at the man, arms raised and threw himself at him. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. George felt Fabian's fist pummel the back of his head and he fell forward which was greeted with a cheer from all that were watching. George picked himself back up and sprinted at the man again. Once again he side stepped and jabbed him in the back of the neck sending shock waves of pain searing through his head. "Wow, he's quick" George noted frowning. Again he jumped back up and ran at the man full pelt. Only this time at the last minute he stopped and twisted round Fabian, using his neck as a brake.

"Glargh!" Fabian croaked as George threw him down by the throat. Before the floored instructor could make a move George had his knee on his jaw. He let loose a flurry of punches into the instructor's ribcage. Every punch was answered with a sickening crack resembling a twig being pulled in half. After George had shattered the man's ribs he stood up, happy with his performance, and let the man writhe on the floor in agony, clutching his ribs.

"George..." The victor turned to the crowd to see who had called his name.

"Geoooorrgggeeee..." the caller murmured in a sing song voice, "Geoooorrrrgggee..." He knew that voice...

"No."

"Geeeooorrrrggggeeee..."

"No."

"George we want to play..."

"No. No. No. It... it couldn't be."

"Let's play a game..."

"NO! NO!" George was shouting now. The crowd had begun to turn their heads and look at each other with confusion and worry at the sudden change in the victor.

"Here come our friends!"

"NO! OH GOD PLEASE NO!" he screamed.

"It's raining, it's pouring..." the voices started to chant.

What happened next George had no control over. He forgot where he was, what he was doing, why he was even here. The only words that echoed throughout his brain were the dolls':

"It's raining, it's pouring the little boy is snoring, he went to bed, we smashed his head and he didn't get up in the morning..."

George lashed out over limbs with a mind of their own. George was now hollow, he was trapped in a nightmare. There was a new force controlling him. It wasn't George anymore. With one hand around the instructor's throat he began punching his face. After three or four punches the man's nose fractured. George, using knuckles that he was no longer in control of, continued onto the other side of his face. The thing then set about his shoulders, repeatedly smashing a single spot with his elbow until it snapped. The man may have cried out, but George did not hear it. He set about his arm and with horrific efficiency dislocated it. The thing inside his head spent a split-second pondering what limb to mangle next. Suddenly, he felt arms around his neck pulling him back until he was lying face down on the floor. His own arms were forced behind his back and cuffed. An attempt to lift his head was met with a kick to the temples by the people restraining him. Darkness enveloped George and his consciousness deserted him.


	8. Briefing

**Chapter 8**

George woke up in the infirmary with a tsunami of blood flowing through his temples. This created a throbbing effect that literally made his head shake with every beat of his heart. Sitting next to his bed was a man wearing a basket on his head along with white robes. He had a serious expression chiselled into his face. George didn't know if it was the headache but he could have sworn that his eyes glowed. Next to him resided General Blade and Kenshi who shushed the basket-wearing man when she saw George's eyelashes flutter.

"Wha… Who… Where…"

"Commander we need to talk"

"About wha…" George was cut off by General blade

"Why did you not tell us that you have a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress?"

"Post traumatic… I don't have PTSD" George murmured in confusion.

"Then what caused you to lose control and nearly kill an instructor?"

"I…" George was interrupted once more, this time by the basket wearing man with the funny eyes.

"Kenshi read him." The blindfolded telepath put his index finger to his temples and put on a look of extreme concentration. After a few seconds Kenshi's inquisitive features turned to horror. Without warning he retched and tore his fingers away from his temple. The mind reader stood up and appeared to have a heart attack. He stayed in this terrified state for a few minutes more before regaining some form of calm.

"I think it will be necessary to discuss this away from the Commander." Kenshi reasoned with a gulp.

"Very well, please take your time Commander and when you feel well enough get up. Your team will be waiting for you outside." With that, the three exited the room. George managed to catch the word "pediophobia". The soldier shuddered despite the warm atmosphere of the infirmary. After a few minutes he struggle out of bed. Spotting his boot camp overalls cleansed of all blood, he changed out of the hospital robes. As George walked outside he expected to see four faces of anxiety and concern. Instead, the whole team were stood smiling at him. Cassie walked up to him, grinned and saluted him.

"I gotta admit, apart from your mental breakdown in the middle there you pulled off some pretty nice moves, I'm impressed. Do that to Kotal Kahn and we're in business."

"Kotal Kahn?" George inquired.

"I talked to Fabian." Jin remarked.

"Fabian?"

"Yeah Fabian, you know, the guy you almost killed!" Jacqui retorted with a light laugh.

"Oh… Shit I'm sorry I…"

"Don't worry about it, Johnny told everyone that you just lost a friend really close to you K.I.A a few weeks ago. Fabian completely understands and he's going to be fine." Jin said with a smile. "I'm sorry about your loss by the way. I've lost many close friends in my engagements for the Shaolin." It was at this time that George realised he was in the midst of a group of hardened soldiers specifically picked because they were the best at what they did. They'd probably seen shit just as bad as what had occurred yesterday.

"Yeah… Uh… My friend was K.I.A… Uhh… Yeah." George shuffled his feet and looked down. He hoped to god Takeda wasn't doing his mind thingy.

"Anyway we got briefing in ten minutes all the way on the other side of the compound." Cassie informed the group.

After a few minutes of sprinting for trams and being stopped by soldiers who had seen the fight the day and offering George understanding and condolences, the team arrived at the briefing room. It was the room where George had first met the squad. The relentless pitter patter of hundreds of fingers on keys echoed throughout the area. After greeting the group and consoling George, Johnny Cage set about a file and brought out a picture.

"Hey! It's Papa Smurf!" George exclaimed which was met by laughter from the group and an unusual stern look from Johnny.

"Actually this is Kotal Kahn, Emperor of Outworld. He is an Osh-Tekk and currently resides in his palace in "Z'Unkarah." The group nodded and looked at George who was frowning so much his eyebrows had merged together.

"You alright George?" Takeda asked.

"Yeah, just trying to comprehend what the fuck he just said." Johnny groaned and looked at Cassie.

"You haven't told him about the realms yet?"

"I thought you didn't want me to?" She replied earnestly.

"I specifically told you to… Never mind." He turned his attention back. Stressing every syllable as though he was talking to a baby Johnny said:

"George I need you to listen, it is very important that you understand this. At the moment we live on earth, right. So, earth is in our universe, right?"

"Alright"

"Well there are other of these "universes" although they are called "realms". Now there are many different realms and Outworld is one of them. There are lots of other realms such as Netherealm, Edenia or Chaosrealm."

"Wha…"

"Great! You understand the system! Now Kotal Kahn is a very powerful ally to us in our common struggle against.."

"Wait, Papa Smurf is your ally?!" George exclaimed shocked.

"Well that's what we are worried about, our informants have been in radio silence for over two weeks now and we're getting worried. So this is a simple reconnaissance…" Johnny was cut off by a dumbfounded George.

"Wait… Not that I believe any of this bullshit but you discover the fact that there are multiple universes like Outrealm and Chaosworld and… You now have a powerful ally who looks like a pissed off peacock and you share a common enemy?! That sounds like something a three year old would come up with when they're playing princes and princesses! And even if it is true…" George took a deep breath. "Why the hell did you not tell us?" For the first time ever Johnny Cage looked doubtful.

"Uh… Maybe… Well it would spread panic…"

"We are Britain! We're your closest allies and you didn't even think of telling us?!"

"Look! Commander the mission begins in five hours why don't you leave the understanding to the rest of the team and you go and get some rest?" Johnny suggested stubbornly.

"But I need to understand…"

"Commander your job is not to understand it is to kill! Goodnight kiddo." Grumbling profanity the sulking soldier lumbered back to his room after nodding a farewell to his team.

George awoke from a rarely calm sleep to a rapping on his door.

"Up Commander! Mission begins in T-minus 10 minutes." Pushing himself onto his feet, George glanced over at the closet where his SAS gear was lying. He threw on the garments and tightened up various buckles. He snatched his mask from under his bed where it was kept. Putting on his hood, he stepped outside into the black velvet of early morning. After his eyes had adjusted to the dark he spotted the team waiting next to Johnny, Sonya, Kenshi and the mysterious man he had seen the day before.

"Morning sunshine!" Cassie remarked. George grumbled a reply.

"Commander, this is Raiden, a close ally of ours and a powerful Elder God."

"Elder god…" George stared at Sonya in confusion.

"You didn't tell him about the Elder Gods?!" Sonya exclaimed incredulously to Johnny.

"Cassie was supposed to…" Johnny Cage had a sudden urge to disappear from the harsh glare of the General. Luckily, a flustered engineer with overalls coated in a thick layer of oil came to the rescue.

"General Blade ma'am!" He saluted her enthusiastically. "After technical difficulties we have the portal up and running."

"Portal?" George muttered to himself. With one last glare at Johnny the General said:  
"Fine." She turned to the Task Force. "Good luck team. We will check in for a status update every two hours. If in trouble follow standard procedure."

"Take note that if Kotal makes a wrong move you are permitted by the Reiko Accords to destroy him," the basket wearing man said.

"I'm not even going to ask" George thought to himself.

"Portal up in T-minus 3, 2, 1." A mechanical drone ripped through the night and in the distance a green eye appeared. As the team began to walk towards the whirlpool of light George found a hand on his shoulder. It was Raiden.

"You show great promise young one. But there is a dark cloud implanted in the back of your mind that holds you back. Only when this fear is removed may you move forward." George nodded and jogged over to the squad. In single file they walked through the portal until George was the only one left. Nervously he planted a foot near the green circle of fire. When he found that he wasn't incinerated like he had expected he slowly edged himself through the portal until he was lost from the sight of the earthrealmers.

"You look troubled Kenshi?" Raiden asked the blind swordsman.

"I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about this mission" he replied.

"The commander is a very talented soldier. He will no doubt be very valuable to the team." Sonya remarked.

"I'm not doubting his skill at all. As Raiden said he will perform great accomplishments with the team which was why he was sent here. But… The things I saw when I read him… They… They scare me"


	9. Outworld

**Chapter 9**

The team had been walking through the desert-like streets of Z'Unkarah for a few hours now. Despite this, George had only started to notice the hostile and cautious expressions being cast towards him and the team by the people of this "realm". This was mainly because he was constantly checking his arms and legs to see if they were still intact after passing through the whirling green abyss of the portal.

"A portal?!" he thought. So much had changed over the past few days. He had so many unanswered questions. What was he doing? Where was he? What the hell is a "Kotal Kahn"? What the hell is Shirai Ryu? Who the hell is this Raiden? He didn't even know who the hell the target was! The unrelenting pressure of all these questions combined with the horrific heat created a sense of panic within George. Instinctively he unclipped his Beretta from his holster and began loudly flipping the safety switch to and fro. After a minute of this Jin appeared to become quite annoyed and shot George a warning glance. Taking no notice of this the soldier carried on snapping the switch on and off.

"By the Gods would you please stop that! You're driving me nuts" Jin snapped.

"Ignore the Shaolin Punk" Cassie said with a grin which was met with a glare from Jin. George acknowledged this with a suppressed laugh and continued flicking the safety on and off.

"Would you be kind enough to tell us where exactly we are for once Sergeant Cage…" asked Jin, his tone dripping with sarcasm and malice.

"Sorry to disappoint you Jin but GPS doesn't fucking work in outworld!" Cassie retorted. As she said this a hooded man collided with George causing him to drop his Beretta. The hooded man made eye contact with George for a split second. During that split second of eye contact George realised that this was no man at all. All he could make out was two startlingly blue eyes that put the colour of Neptune to shame. At first he thought it must have been a trick of the light, but the bottom half of the person's face seemed to be covered in a blue fabric. From the long eyelashes and high cheekbones, George deduced that this must be a woman. Almost immediately she spun away and resumed her original course.

"Jesus Christ on a bicycle! You fucking blind mate?!" George yelled. Despite his hostile reaction, he couldn't help but feel quite in awe of the person he had just seen.

"Shit…" Jacqui murmured.

"Informant of Kahn?" Takeda asked glancing at the figure walking calmly away behind him with a worried expression.

"Most likely, that guy just went straight for George." Jin nodded. After he finished checking if he had been harmed by any concealed weapon he said:

"Was that a spy of this Kotal guy?" Before Cassie could nod a voice came out of the whirling sandstorm that seemed to constantly engulf Outworld. It had a grating tone as if the speaker had swallowed a load of sand.

"You would do well to treat the emperor with more respect. Especially when you're on his front door step." Both George and Jin's arms had shot up, one ready to unload a round into the opponent, the other an arrow.

"Stand down!" Cassie shouted, "We're hugely outnumbered…" She whispered. A beep from George's mask rang out in confirmation as it registered over sixty possible threats. Reluctantly, both SAS and Shaolin Monk lowered their weapons. Out of the crowd of sword wielding men a figure draped in worn red garments appeared. He wore a strange hat that reminded George of the cowboy movies he watched in his youth. This was combined with a mask that covered the lower section of his face. This strange combination made him look like the offspring of a terrorist and Clint Eastwood. As George focused on him the mask outlined two firearms. Both looked impossibly old and antique, something that you would find in a museum. Yet he wielded them with such certainty that George did not doubt the fact that this guy was not someone to bugger around with.

"Hello my lovelies, what can I do for you today?" the man spun his revolvers around in his hands and slotted them back into their holsters with impressive skill.

"We request an audience with the emperor." Cassie replied uncertainly.

"And what makes you think the emperor wants anything to do with you?"

"Because it is a matter of inter-realm importance!" The man squinted at the group for an unnerving amount of time before saying.

"What is this "inter-realm importance" then" the man asked suspiciously.

"Erron... Take us to Kahn!" Cassie tried to remain in control but under the harsh glare of Erron Black that was not an easy task.

"Tell me the information and I'll let you go."

"No. We need to speak with the emperor!"

"I'm losing patience with you now Cage... Tell me or discover the consequences for yourself."

"It is essential that we..." Cassie tried desperately to reason with the cowboy but she was interrupted.

"Kill them..."

"Wait… We have information about Mileena!" she shouted. This caused the man to nearly drop his weapons that he had handled with such ease before.

"You…Mileena…Information?!" The man immediately motioned for the soldiers to relax and without further ado said: "You better not be wasting my time…"

After a few minutes of being lead through the streets of Z'Unkarah they entered what looked like an enormous courtyard that succeeded a huge palace. George's eyes were drawn to an immense animal resembling an overgrown rhinoceros pulling against a set of chains in the background. He was not given time to wonder at the size of the animal creature when there was a cry from Jin. He looked to a raised platform where a man was being forced on his knees. It was easy to see from the large throng of people that this was a public execution. He had seen many of these being carried out by terrorist groups in previous missions so the situation was not alien to him. The executioner wielded a huge saw intricately decorated with markings. Jin started barging through the crowd to the platform. When George realised he was not going to make it, he tore off his mask for a better view, whipped out his M9 and aimed it at the executioner. The man raised the saw above his head and prepared to bring it down on the victim's neck. The tension in the crowd had reached an unbearable level as the saw was brought down. Milliseconds before contact the weapon was shot out of the executioners hand sending it flying through the air to bounce harmlessly off the huge rhino thing chained up in the background. After a minute where everyone assembled in the courtyard attempted to figure out what had just occurred all eyes were on George.

"Holy shit" Jacqui whispered. "That wasn't a bad shot." The silence was shattered by a roar from the doors of the palace.

"Dear god…" Cassie murmured. "It's Jumbo and Fun-Sized"

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Sorry for the huge delay in Chapters. Just got back from a rugby tour to Edinburgh with my team so I am back in business now:) Please give a quick review and don't hesitate to PM me if there is a problem or you have any question-I'd love to talk with some of you guys:)**


End file.
